Compete against yourself. YOU are the project.

Gary Vaynerchuk of Vayner Media

I’ve been obsessed with Gary Vaynerchuk (YouTube). I’m not sure how I never came across him before. He’s a rockstar social media mogul who understands things like Twitter and Snapchat and the next one you haven’t heard of yet. He built a million dollar wine business, took that business online, and created an early YouTube channel called WineLibraryTV.

Gary says (paraphrasing) “don’t create, document.” What he means is that you don’t need to bother trying to be clever, to be creative. By just documenting your work, your successes and failures, you create value for people who follow.

What I learned From Gary Vaynerchuk:

Self-awareness is extremely valuable and unteachable.

Know your strengths and triple down on them. Don’t chase what other people tell you you should do.

Regret is the most painful. Spend time with retirement home residents to see this pain first hand. People regret what they do not do.

Immigrants have an unfair advantage because they recognize the opportunity that others don’t. Native-born people take things for granted.

Those who work the hardest create the most luck. Tom Bilyeu: “I will die before I quit. I will outwork you.”

Don’t pay attention to people who complain. Jeff Bezos: “complaining is not a strategy.”

Don’t use age (or anything else) as an excuse to not learn new technology.

Pursue unreasonable goals. Gary will buy the New York Jets when the time is right.